Once upon a time there lived a king and queen, who had a fervent wish:

“Aah, if only we had a child!” the queen lamented, but still they had none.

One day while the queen was bathing in a pond, a frog jumped out and spoke to her:

“Your desire will be fulfilled before a year has passed, you shall bear a daughter.”

And it happened just as the frog had foretold: the queen gave birth to a baby girl, so pretty that the king was beside himself with joy, and so gave a great feast in the royal palace.

He invited not only relatives, friends and acquaintances, but also fairies, to care for, protect and shield the child. There happened to be thirteen fairies living throughout the kingdom, but sadly one was forgotten and unfortunately only twelve golden plates were set at the table. Alas, this meant that one fairy would have to remain at home. After a sumptuous banquet, each of the fairies would offer the newborn a gift: One bestowed virtue worthy of a princess, another beauty, a third riches, so that in the end the child got everything one could desire in this world.

When eleven fairies had already sprinkled their charms, the missing thirteenth rushed into the royal chamber. She wanted to take revenge for having been excluded, and without so much as a greeting she exclaimed nastily:

“May the princess in her fifteenth year prick herself with a spindle, and wither away.”

Having said this she turned and left the room. Everybody stood horrified. Then, the twelfth fairy, who had not yet granted her wish, expressed great sorrow that she could not reverse this sinister and ominous spell, but only soften it; so she declared:

“Let it not be death, but a deep century-long slumber, into which the princess will fall.”

The king, who wished to protect his beloved child, gave orders that all the spindles throughout the country should be burnt. The charms which the fairy maidens had laid upon the girl were fulfilled: the princess was so beautiful, so virtuous, and so sweet and wise, that merely to glance at her induced a great love in all who did so. It so happened that on the very day the princess turned fifteen, she was left alone in the palace, while the king and the queen were out visiting their kingdom. Alone, she walked around the palace chambers, exploring all the nooks and crannies, until at last she came to the foot of an old tower. She climbed the narrow spiral stairs and found herself before a tiny door. In the lock was lodged a rusty key. The princess struggled to turn it, but finally the lock gave way, the door opening into a small room in which sat an old woman, working with a spindle and flax.

Illustrations and cover

Arthur Friday

Text by

Alex Fonteyn

English Translation and Adaptation:

Stefan Potocki

Matthew Zamoyski

Typesetter

Andrzej Nowak

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© Copyright by Tom eMusic

ISBN 978-1-62321-011-3

Tom eMusic

www.tomemusic.com

New York 2012